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Italy's Top Court Rules Hotels Can Refuse Free Tap Water
The court said Italian law leaves tap water service to individual venues and rejected a tourist’s €2,700 compensation claim.
- Italy's highest court ruled Wednesday that five-star Hotel Sassongher in the Dolomites acted lawfully refusing tap water, with the Court of Cassation finding Italian law does not oblige restaurants or hotels to serve it.
- During her late 2019 stay at the Dolomites hotel, a tourist on a half-board package repeatedly requested tap water but staff provided 0.75-litre bottles of mineral water costing €7 each night, even after she offered to pay for it.
- Seeking €2,700 in compensation, the woman argued that "water is a natural resource and a universal human right" and claimed consumer rights were violated, likening free tap water to basic hotel services such as "finding a bed with sheets" and "soap in the bathroom."
- Judges determined individual Italian venues retain the right to decide whether serving tap water is necessary, denying the tourist's €2,700 claim. Hotel Sassongher stated Wednesday it "fully respects the decision of the Supreme Court" but declined further comment.
- Spain's 2022 law compels bars and restaurants to offer free unpackaged water, while England, Wales and France mandate tap water service, contrasting sharply with Italy's lack of legal obligation. No EU-wide law forces all member states to provide it.
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32 Articles
32 Articles
A five-star hotel in Italy that repeatedly refused to serve tap water to a guest in its restaurant did not break any laws, the country's supreme court ruled.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources32
Leaning Left6Leaning Right7Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution37% Right
Bias Distribution
- 37% of the sources lean Right
37% Right
L 32%
C 31%
R 37%
Factuality
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